The Laguna Mountain Volunteer Association is kicking off the new year with a call for volunteers. The LMVA has been providing quality services to the Laguna Mountain Recreation Area and supporting the Descanso District of the Cleveland National Forest since 1986, when it was officially incorporated. LMVA is holding its annual meeting open to the public on Jan.11 at the Red-tailed Roost, located at 10365 Sunrise Highway in Mt. Laguna from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
LMVA Member Services Committee Chair Vivian Sartori said LMVA has been around for 40 years.
“We volunteer for Descanso District of the Cleveland National Forest,” she said. “Most of the work we do is in the Laguna Mountain recreation area. We do trail maintenance. We have a Trail Ambassador Program, we staff the Visitor’s Center, and during the summer present interpretative programs, which I call the “Walks and the Talks,’ educating our visitors along their walks. We are a fun group. We say, ‘We work hard, we play hard.’ And we are always looking for new volunteers.”
Sartori said the U.S. Forest Service requires the organization to have this annual training session so people learn about the Forest Service and learn how they can become involved with the LMVA.
“The area is at 6,000 feet in a beautiful oak forest. We have two family campgrounds up there. We have miles and miles of trails for hiking and mountain biking. The Pacific Coast Trail goes through the recreation area. In the spring, we get many PCT hikers. They are a international group of hikers, and fun to talk to.”
Sartori said in aiding the area, it was able to get the visitor’s center repainted this year, replaced the concrete skim coat at the Red-tailed Roost patio.
“There are many other things. They like us to repaint picnic tables, maintain the trails, beautify the area around the visitor’s center, clear out drainage channels, and there are many other ways that we help the Forest Service,” she said.
Sartori said in the springtime, the wild flowers are “absolutely gorgeous,” and worth the trip to see.
Sartori said for volunteers, if you enjoy working with the public, the visitor’s center is a great place to work.
“If you want more in-depth knowledge of the natural and cultural history of the area, that is where interpretation comes in. There is online and in-person training for people to become interpreters. We really need trail maintenance ambassadors, and they need to have good knowledge of the trails here, learn about the basic plants and wildlife that are here,” she said. “We will train people for trail maintenance and trail ambassador work. This training coming up on Jan.11 gives folks a more in-depth understanding of what the Forest Service is, and what we do as an organization. We have materials for all of this and that is what you take away from this meeting.”
Sartori said the training is for adults 18 years old and older. She said families can get their children involved, depending on their age and what work is being done.
“Most of our volunteers back in the day were people in their late 30s, 40s, and early 50s. Now, most of us are retired. We really need the younger folks. They have technical knowledge of computers and managing websites, which many of us seniors do not have. We have been outpaced by technology. We need them to get involved so that they can carry on the organization. We are very proud of the fact that we have been around for 40 years. We never expected that we would last this long. And look, here we are. We will continue to work on this for as long as we can,” she said.
Contact Vivian Sartori at sartori_vivian@yahoo.com. for more info, details, directions, and recommended reservations. For more information about the LMVA and the Laguna Mountain Recreation Area, visit www.lagunamtvol.org.
